Worcester parking glitch drains money from drivers’ bank accounts

theguardian.com:

An estimated 1,500 drivers have been left out of pocket – some to the tune of hundreds of pounds – after their contactless cards were repeatedly debited by a council’s parking payment machines.

Some motorists in Worcester said they were left overdrawn and unable to pay bills after a software glitch meant they were charged many times over last week.

Giselle Naylor contacted the Guardian on discovering her debit card had been charged 19 times after she used it to pay a £2.70 parking fee on a shopping trip to the city. “At least two of my friends have had the same experience,” she said.

“We’re fortunate in that the loss of £50 will not cause us serious hardship – but for some people that’s the cost of a week’s food. It exposes a serious flaw in contactless payments, where a one-off payment morphs into a financial haemorrhage.”

This week, Worcester city council was forced to admit that unauthorised payments were still being debited, three days after it had declared that the problem had been resolved. Some local residents ended up blocking their bank cards to prevent further debits draining their accounts.

The council, which estimates 1,500 people have been overcharged, has blamed the problem on a software upgrade by its parking contractor Flowbird and has promised that refunds to those affected will be processed by this Friday. It said any associated bank charges would also be repaid.

In a statement, it said: “During mid-September, the council identified that card payments relating to car parking sessions had not been taken from individuals’ bank accounts since about 29 August.

“The council duly notified its contractor Flowbird to investigate the matter. On 26 September Flowbird commenced sending delayed payment files relating to